In the 1960s and 1970s, high-rise gallery flats were built in the Meerzicht, Driemanspolder and Palenstein districts because of the housing shortage. The apartment buildings had parking decks on which roof gardens were laid out for the residents.
The roof gardens mostly consisted of grass, trees and shrubs, a small playground and a pierepad. In the shallow water, especially small children could play in the water, with their parents on a towel or a bench nearby. Some roof gardens have disappeared over time, but the roof garden at the apartment building on Van Leeuwenhoeklaan, for example, still exists.
We turned up some old photos of roof gardens in Zoetermeer. See what it looked like on the following pages:
Source: Zoetermeer architecture point